County awards leases for district judge offices
The Fayette County commissioners Thursday approved four leases for various magisterial district judge offices throughout the county, with three to remain at their current locations and the fourth to move to a new site.
Each of the current leases expires at the end of 2011 and the new leases are for terms of five or six years.
Only one of the motions was approved unanimously, garnering approval from Commission Chairman Vincent Zapotosky, Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites and Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink. That lease is for the office of Magisterial District Judge 14-2-03 (Mike Defino Jr.) at 113 C Thornton Rd., Brownsville with James T. Davis at a cost of $2,000 per month for 2012 with a $50 per month increases annually for six years.
Zimmerlink said it must be clear in the motion that Davis must fund any improvements to the site to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. County manager Warren Hughes said it is the responsibility of the leaser, Davis in this case, to make the upgrades.
Zimmerlink said Davis estimated the costs to comply with the act at $9,700.
Vicites and Zapotosky voted to approve a lease for the office of Magisterial District Judge 14-3-02 (Randy S. Abraham) with Masontown Borough at 1 E. Church St. at a rate of $1,500 a month for six years. Zimmerlink voted against the motion.
The office is currently at Triangle 21, located at 870 McClellandtown Rd., McClellandtown. The current leaseholder, Keith Charles, was also seeking a six-year lease at $1,500 a month.
Zapotosky said President Judge Gerald R. Solomon recommended the move.
The new location will be located in the former Gabler’s Drug building in Masontown that is going to be the new municipal headquarters for the borough. Before it can be occupied, the building must be renovated and earlier this week borough officials tabled any action toward award a contract saying funding was still being acquired.
At Tuesday’s agenda meeting, Zimmerlink read a letter from Masontown officials dated Feb. 10 in which they stated that the building would be ready to wire in December and ready to occupy in January.
Vicites and Zapotosky approved a lease for the office of Magisterial District Judge 14-2-02 (Wendy D. Dennis) at 521 Johnston Ave., Uniontown, with Wayne Long Construction for $1,000 a month for five years.
Zimmerlink, who voted against the motion, said a clause in the current lease calls for an additional six-year extension at a rate of $950 per month.
Vicites said the county sought proposals for each of the leases to which Zimmerlink responded that the proposals could be rejected.
Zimmerlink said approving the lease at a higher rate “makes no sense.”
Vicites and Zapotosky also approved a lease for the office of Magisterial District Judge 14-3-06 (Dwight Shaner) at Franklin Commercial Park, Suite 2, 1020 Franklin Drive, Smock with JD & D Enterprises for $2,200 a month for five years.
Zimmerlink, who voted against the lease, said the option in the current lease calls for only a 2-percent increase each year.
Zimmerlink said when the leases were entered into six years ago there was a lot of time and energy spent on them.
Zapotosky said this time around the property owners were responding to a new request for proposals and pointed out that it is now 2011.
In another split vote, Vicites and Zapotosky approved a memorandum of understanding between Fayette County and the Pittsburgh Regional Building and Construction Trades Council. The three-year agreement states that any job of more than $500,000 that is undertaken in the county uses union workers.
While Zapotosky and Vicites said the action will ensure work for working families and help ensure illegal aliens aren’t getting jobs, Zimmerlink said whether there is an agreement or not, the prevailing wage law must be followed.
Zapotosky said the issue is about having union workers perform the jobs.
Zimmerlink said Fayette County has working families that are not in unions.
Zimmerlink said the agreement would eliminate fair, open bidding, acknowledging that half the meeting room was filled with union workers.
Zimmerlink said the job of a commissioner is to look out for the interest of the entire public and not just the union.
During public comment, several people spoke out in favor of the agreement.
Dennis L. Martire, vice president and mid-Atlantic regional manager of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, said Zimmerlink’s assertion that the agreement will cost taxpayers extra and will prevent open bidding isn’t true.
According to Martire, anyone can bid on the jobs, but the county must employ union workers.
George Rattay said project labor agreements have been around for centuries, adding that it is a good agreement.
At noon, a group of union representatives held a rally at Storey Square, which was attended by Democrats Vicites and Zapotosky.